Crystal Clear Communication Celebration: The Iq’ Trecena

My dream is real. My life is a yoga retreat. In my moment-to-moment experience, I get to embody and share love, gratitude, presence, patience, and peace. I live in a meaningful way, a way that feels simple, natural, and essential.

I’m immersed in the dream I had as a young adult. Teaching, writing, living freely, eating healthily, living close to the heart of the earth, the heart of the sky and my own heart. I didn’t realize it when I moved to Guatemala 14+ years ago, but I was fleeing the concrete jungle, the car and credit-card culture, the pill popping, the dysfunctional dates and the perpetually being overworked and underpaid.

Instead, I’ve immersed myself in Spanish, in yoga, in mindfulness, in Mayan culture, and in love. I soak up the joy, the sadness, the rage and everything in between. Each moment is a gift.

Today is 1 Iq’ in the Mayan calendar.

Iq’ is all about communication and imagination. Iq’ is the wind. Its spirit animal is the hummingbird. These two weeks are an ideal time to focus on inspiration, breathwork and pranayama, imagination, and all forms of communication (written, verbal, and intuitive).

My Mayan birthday, 6 Kej, falls within the trecena of Iq’. According to Mark Elmy of The Four Pillars, “People born in the trecena of Iq’ usually have an underlying, strong desire to communicate. This may lead to a life as a teacher or performer. Those born during this period are often the carriers of ideas, they are people with a message to get across.”

I’ve been a writer (diarist) since at least age 10. I’ve always loved words and had a way with them. I inherited a love of crossword puzzles from my maternal grandpa.

Although I studied advertising and copy writing in college, I quickly became disillusioned with the field and switched to school teaching in my mid-twenties.

I used to lead my third grade students in mindfulness practices each morning in the classroom, first thing. We not only sat quietly and breathed deeply and visualized our happy place, but we also learned about mindful speech—and tried our best to apply it. I still remember and attempt to integrate the acronym THINK in the realm of communication.

THINK before you communicate: Is It True, Helpful, Important, Necessary and Kind?

If everyone would pause and do this before speaking, writing, texting, etc., it would be a revolution.

During this 13-day cycle in the sacred Mayan calendar, it’s time to see what the winds of change have in store for us this time around.

Here are the days of the Iq’ trecena:

1 Iq: Welcome the winds of change. Be open to inspiration. Start a new conversation, a new daydream.

2 Aq’a’bal: Focus on relationships. Meditate on the new dawn and the setting sun. Appreciate the space between darkness and light.

3 K’at: Meditate on what you carry will forward versus what you are ready to release and thank for its service. Stay home if possible. Focus within.

4 Kan: Thank your inner feminine, masculine and divine energies, grounding yourself in gratitude. Connect with the blue of the sky and the heart of the sky.

5 Kame: Put effort into transformation. It happens step-by-step, not by magic. Contemplate death and rebirth.

6 Kej: Connect with nature, spiritual leadership, the wild world, the four directions, the body. Spend time in the wilderness today, whether alone or with friends and family.

7 Q’anil: It’s time for the ripening of star seeds. What intentions are you planting?

8 Toj: Give thanks to the sacred fire, give offerings, do service, conduct ceremony

9 T’zi: Concentrate on feminine aspects of power, justice, and unconditional love. Cultivate self-discipline and work with overcoming vices.

10 B’atz: Manifest your colorful story in the earth plane. Marvel at the weaving of history. Create unity in your community.

11 E: Wander in wonder. Allow yourself to indulge in distractions. Maybe take an unexpected journey. (Return of the Year Bearer—2023 is ruled by 11 E; the Mayan new year occurs annually in mid-February)

12 Aj: Today’s themes are culmination, completion, family, and home. Look at your life as a whole with gratitude for its abundant harvest.

13 Ix: Connect with Spirit and the ancestors through the magic of mother nature. Jaguar medicine day. Do a little divination or journaling in the fresh air.

If you’d like to delve into the fascinating and practice sacred Mayan calendar (and deepen your yoga and mindfulness practice), join me on retreat in Guatemala in December, February or March!